


Who's Got the Button?

by Zetal (Rodinia)



Series: YOI Rare Pair Week [6]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: M/M, Non-Graphic Housecleaning, Pet Illness, Sick cat, vet trip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:02:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22311442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rodinia/pseuds/Zetal
Summary: Christophe's cat gets sick and has to go to the vet.
Relationships: Christophe Giacometti/Christophe Giacometti's Boyfriend
Series: YOI Rare Pair Week [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1596220
Comments: 9
Kudos: 23
Collections: YOI Rare Pair Week 2020





	Who's Got the Button?

**Author's Note:**

> Day 6: Pets / Domesticity

Christophe was such a bad parent. How could he not have noticed his precious girl was struggling? She was usually affectionate, but not clingy, and it had taken him days to realize she was clinging to him trying to tell him something was wrong. It wasn’t until the dinner debacle that he’d realized something was terribly wrong.

Normally, she would start telling him it was dinnertime an hour or two before it was, and any time he even looked like he might be getting up, go running for the kitchen. If dinner, god forbid, was late, she would scream her head off. So when Christophe looked at the clock and it was half an hour past dinner time and Christophe hadn’t heard anything, he got worried. He headed for the kitchen, assuming she’d be there, and she wasn’t. He made as much noise as he could, calling for her and clanging bowls and cans around… nothing. He finally went to go find her. She was curled up on Masumi’s lap, sleeping while he watched some Italian drama. “May I borrow my cat?”

Masumi looked down at his lap. “What’s she still doing here?” He carefully picked her up and handed her to Christophe. She meowed a little in protest as Christophe carried her to the kitchen.

It wasn’t unusual for, after all the drama, Bae to take two sniffs at the food and decide she really wasn’t hungry after all. She’d usually come back in a few minutes to eat, so Christophe watched. Ten minutes later, he went back and found her back on Masumi’s lap. “Bae? Are you not hungry?”

Masumi frowned and turned off the TV, petting Bae. “She should be. She didn’t eat her breakfast this morning, either. What’s wrong, baby?”

Bae gave a pathetic little meow, so far from her usual loud demands that it broke Christophe’s heart. “Vet time?” Bae meowed again, a little stronger this time, but Christophe couldn’t tell if it was agreement or protest.

“First thing in the morning,” Masumi agreed. “I know you hate getting up early, but…”

“Of course I’ll do it,” Christophe promised. “We’ll get you feeling better, Bae, I promise.”

They got to the vet’s office ten minutes before it opened, Bae sleeping contentedly in her carrier. The tech poked her head out. “What’s the problem?”

“Our cat isn’t eating. No vomiting or anything, she’s just not eating,” Christophe said. “Litterbox has seemed fine, although no poop yesterday, and maybe a little lethargic but not much.”

“All right. Bring her in, let’s see what we can do for her,” the tech said. She led the way to the exam room, waiting while Christophe got Bae out of her carrier. Bae put up some protest as the tech examined her mouth and weighed her. “Any possibility she got into something she shouldn’t have?”

Christophe tried to think, but couldn’t come up with anything. Masumi looked blank, as well, until something hit him. “Remember when you ripped my shirt off and buttons went flying, and we couldn’t find them all? What if she found one of the missing ones for us and ate it for some reason?”

The tech rolled her eyes, but carefully examined Bae’s tummy. “I’m gonna take her back and do an x-ray, see if there’s a button or something else in there. That would explain why she’s not eating. The vet will be out once the film’s developed to show you what’s happening and what we need to do next.” She picked up Bae. “Do you guys have any questions before I take her back?”

“Will you have to sedate her?” Masumi asked.

“Maybe. She seems pretty mellow, so we may not need to, but if she does get scared or won’t stay still we might have to.”

“All right.” She disappeared with Bae, leaving Christophe and Masumi to worry about their cat.

About twenty minutes later, the vet came in. “Your cat swallowed two buttons. They’ve lodged themselves at the beginning of her small intestine. Unfortunately, the way they’re lodged, I don’t think we can get to them without surgery. She’ll need to stay here overnight for observation afterwards, and when you get her home, give her soft, bland food for the first few days. Is that okay?”

“Of course, do what you need to do,” Christophe said. “When can we come get her?”

“Assuming all goes well and she recovers normally, you can pick her up tomorrow morning. If there are any complications, we’ll give you a call to let you know about them and let you know how that affects taking her home.” She gave Christophe and Masumi a reassuring smile. “I know this is stereotypically a dog thing, but don’t worry, cats get into things. You’re not bad cat parents for letting this happen, and from what Anna told me, it sounds like you did everything right and we caught this before it could become a more serious problem.”

As soon as they got home, Christophe insisted on checking to make sure there weren’t any more buttons hiding in their room. Masumi laughed at him a little – “We found all but two of them, love, buttons don’t spontaneously appear.” – but he was willing to help search anyway. They didn’t find any buttons, but Christophe still felt better for having looked.

He spent the rest of the day going through and cleaning the house, tackling the things that tended to get put off or ignored. Washing the baseboards. Moving furniture to sweep and mop or vacuum underneath. Cleaning the cabinets. It kept him busy, and while of course it wouldn’t make much difference to Bae, it still felt like he was taking care of her, or maybe apologizing to her. Masumi helped out, and by the time they went to bed, they were both exhausted.

It didn’t help Christophe sleep. Neither did the phone call they’d gotten that afternoon, when the vet informed them that the surgery had gone smoothly and once the anesthesia had worn off enough that they could offer her water and food, she ate and drank normally. They didn’t see any reason why she couldn’t go home in the morning.

Masumi held him. “She’ll be fine. It’s okay, love. Bae will be all right and home tomorrow. Although after all our hard work today, she might not recognize it as our home!”

Once again, they got to the vet’s a little before it opened. This time, when Anna poked her head out, she smiled as soon as she saw them. “That eager to get your kitty, huh? Come on in, let’s get her.”

Masumi headed for the desk to settle the bill, while Christophe followed Anna back to the boarding area. Bae was curled up grooming herself, but as soon as she saw Christophe, she got to her feet and stuck her paw out through the bars, waving it at him. Anna opened the cage for him, and Christophe picked up his cat and gave her a big warm hug. “I’m so glad you’re okay! I missed you.”

Bae’s purring echoed through the entire room as she rubbed her head against Christophe’s face. The vet came out with a smile. “As you can see, she’s recovering nicely. I told you yesterday, but a reminder: soft food only for a day or two, make sure to keep an eye on her incision and give us a call if something looks off about it. I’ve written a prescription for pain pills, if you can get her to take them. Do you have any questions?” Christophe shook his head. “Do you want the buttons back?”

A laugh bubbled out of Christophe. “No, thank you.”


End file.
